Where's the Depth in Women's Marathoning?

Times have slowed drastically, around the world, in recent years

If there ever was a heyday for women's marathoning, it was at the turn of the 21st century. During the dot-com boom and the housing bubble and after a 13-year wait, Tegla Loroupe of Kenya broke Ingrid Kristiansen's world record at the Rotterdam Marathon in 1998 by 19 seconds with her 2:20:47. Like the first person into the pool, she soon had company. Loroupe broke her record again the following year. In 2001, prophetic of things to come, Naoko Takahashi of Japan brought the women's mark under 2:20 with her 2:19:46.

Then Catherine (Ndereba) the Great. Then Paula Radcliffe. Then Radcliffe again. Overworked historians hardly had their ink dry before it was time to pull out pens for an addendum.

When the dust settled in the spring of 2003, the women's marathon world record had, over five years, dropped 5 minutes, culminating in Radcliffe's 2:15:25. In the same time, the men's marathon record had dropped 27 seconds.

The American women followed a similar pattern. Joan Benoit Samuelson's 2:21:21, set in the 1985 Chicago Marathon, was broken by Deena Kastor in 2003. The mark was further lowered in 2006 when Kastor ran her current American record of 2:19:36 in London.

But like an engine given too much gas, the momentum of the new century of women's marathoning has seemingly stalled in the last five years. The fast spring and fall marathons of 2010 have been run. The paper cups have been swept from the street and the best in the world have had their footfalls recorded by history. And where do we find the results?

London was taken in 2:22. Rotterdam in 2:25. Berlin was won in 2:23. Liliya Shobukhova's 2010 Chicago Marathon performance of 2:20:25 was the 15th fastest of all time, behind results dating as far back as 2001. And even more startling: It was the fastest time since Irina Mikitenko ran 2:19:19 in 2008.

The American scene has followed a similar trend, only magnified. Benoit Samuelson's ghost still haunts four spots of the American top eight, and if it weren't for Kastor, would retain its hegemony. And while Kastor hasn't yet hung up her racing flats, her record seems impervious even to its progenitor -- especially now that she's pregnant. Among other current American elites, Kara Goucher's 2:25:53 -- more than 6 minutes slower than Kastor's record -- is the next fastest PR.

While running as an industry has proven recession-proof, women's marathon times have been as vulnerable as anything else. From what lofty heights we have fallen. The question is: Why?

RECORD QUALITY

The competitiveness of women's road racing is as fierce as it always has been, and always will be. Someone always wants to win. The question under discussion is why that competition isn't a few minutes faster.

Even if we discount Radcliffe as an extreme outlier and regard her 2:15 as an aberration, we should still at least see women routinely running in the low 2:20s.

Part of the reason we're not, says Tom Ratcliffe, head of KIMbia Athletics, which has represented many top Kenyan marathoners, is that many Kenyan women are still on the track.

"There's a lot of national pride in competition in the world championships and Olympics," Ratcliffe says. "[Traditionally] you're either a track runner or a marathoner."

Ratcliffe sees a trend away from such stereotypes for women in coming years. But examining the Kenyan men, he sees almost the opposite: A new generation of Kenyan men are drawing inspiration from the successes of Sammy Wanjiru and other young Kenyan marathoners, taking to the roads directly as their specialty, instead of after a traditional career of track work. Conversely, from Ratcliffe's perspective, young Kenyan women are influenced more by the younger Vivian Cheruiyots of the track than the older Catherine Nderebas of the roads.

"A lot of those women can run under 2:20 if they move up to the marathon," Ratcliffe says. "At some point, [women's marathoning] will be as steady as the men's."

The question is incentive. While the monetary reward is there for the marathon, Ratcliffe notes that there aren't exactly slim pickings for competition and success on the European track circuit, especially with the Diamond League meets. And when it comes down to it, "Athletes are running for financial reward," Ratcliffe says. It doesn't matter if it comes from the roads or around an oval.

But the money beckons. Ratcliffe sees the same trend in men's marathoning -- that is, the steady lowering of mean times through the steady lowering of the mean age the athletes have on the starting line -- expanding into women's marathoning. "As there is success, there is incentive for kids to get into it," he says.

YOUNG LADIES

Carey Pinkowski, race director for the Chicago Marathon, references the Chicago men's race in 2002, where Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat were just a few of the heavy hitters battling for the win. The difference between then and now, Pinkowski says, is that, "Tergat and Khannouchi were at the end of their careers. Now, we're seeing very young guys going to the marathon much earlier. It's the front of their velocity.

"Women are where men were 10 years ago," he says.

Did we see loomings of this future in Chicago? While 32-year-old Shobukhova won in a disciplined 2:20, it was 23-year-old Astede Baysa and 26-year-old Mamitu Daska, both of Ethiopia, who impulsively broke the lead pack and led the race until 21 miles. Baysa's precipitous drop from her 2:19 pace to a second-place, 2:23 finish seems to indicate a lack of experience, but she has been racing marathons since she was 18, with a 2:22 performance to her credit. What could she accomplish at the wizened old age of 32?

The bigger question: Can Baysa last until 32? Many young African racers have flash-in-the-pan results, only to disappear after a year or two. Looking at the longevity of Tergat, Haile Gebrselassie, and Derartu Tulu, one can't help but notice that their foundations were on the track. Coming to the marathon early, with all its rigors and heavy mileage, is still largely uncharted territory, and while we no longer believe that any distance over 800m will damage a woman's reproductive organs, it does seem a legitimate concern how the sustained stress of marathon competition at the elite level will affect younger and younger athletes, regardless of gender.

How many young Ethiopian women, following Baysa's example, will skip the track and begin on the roads? There is a monetary vacuum waiting to reward the next generation of fast women marathoners. The skeleton is set, and all that's left is for these women of the future to build on it.

"There [in East Africa], it is survival," Ratcliffe says of what a career in running offers these young athletes. "Here [in the U.S.], there are many options.

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

When looking at the future of U.S. women's marathoning, the reasons the next Joan Benoit Samuelsons and Deena Kastors have yet to step forward are more complicated. Again, Goucher's 2:25 debut in the 2008 ING New York City Marathon has come closest, but is still 6 minutes off Kastor's American record. Calling this close is like waving a wiffle bat at a pinata two blocks away -- a lot of energy, but no real threat.

Kevin Hanson of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Michigan -- the proving ground for Brian Sell and Desiree Davila -- agrees with Ratcliffe's observation of the current crop of young Kenyan track stars.

"Where are the next great American marathoners? They're on the track, waiting to turn 30," Hanson says.

But there's a bigger issue that Hanson has seen in his experience recruiting young post-collegiate athletes to his team. He has found it difficult to sell relocation to Michigan to a newly graduated woman, not because of climate or compensation, but because of options.

"Every major city has 12 men that are running a 33:00 10K," Hanson says. So the woman stays in her respective major city -- an easier option than moving to a new and strange part of the country -- confident she'll have the people to run with. And she does; it's the focus that differs.

While the men look to balance running with work and claw their way down to a 32:30, a woman at that level is -- or should be -- setting her sights higher, on the Olympic trials and elite-level racing. The disparity between the two goals is too great, and Hanson believes this is why many women aren't reaching their potential.

According to Hanson, two paths diverge in a wood, but unfortunately the path less traveled remains so by too many American women. Davila's steady cutting of her PRs at distances from the 3,000m to the marathon -- her 2:26:20 was the fastest American time in 2010 -- is largely due to a consistent training group. "Every bit as important as Brian [Sell] and his success," Hanson says.

VIGIL'S VISION

Joe Vigil, who coached Kastor to an Olympic medal in the marathon, says a number of women active on the U.S. road scene have both the pedigree and track times to run a sub-2:25 marathon. Where they fall short, he says, is not how they train, but with whom.

"These girls don't have a training group," Vigil says. "The level of the people they're surrounded with is so low, they're never challenged."

Vigil also says that, while the monetary reward is there, the almighty dollar isn't enough to incentivize these women to run faster. It takes something else, something Kastor understood when she was beginning.

"She thrived in the Spartan-like existence. She was in bed at 8 p.m. She didn't have a TV. She ate well and she was intelligent. And she wrote down her goals," Vigil says. "It takes complete focus to attain your potential."

Kastor's list had three points -- an Olympic medal, winning the 10,000m at the Olympic trials, and a world cross country medal -- all three of which she accomplished under Vigil's tenure.

But Vigil remains optimistic. When asked if he'll see an American challenge Kastor's marathon mark, he says, "Records are made to be broken."

So we must wait. A marathon is patient work, from the training to the race itself. While we celebrate the accomplishments of our current elites, we can't help but hope for a peek at the coming years that will produce faster times to match the competitive hunger. The fastest women of tomorrow are watching the races of today. And they're hungry. Soon they should step up to the table.